E-books Take the World by Storm

There is no denying the Kindle family and the rest of the e-book reader ilk have changed, if not reinvigorated, reading as a whole. Just look here, here and here –where bloggers and authors have pondered the future of these electronic devices and the impact they’ve had on publishing.

E-book readers have already revitalized an entire country’s interest in reading. The freedom of literally having an entire bookstore in your hands is amazing. If you hear something about a book, you just tap your iPad a couple of times, read a review, read the synopsis, buy it and start reading in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. Now if that isn’t music to a Gen Y’s ears, I don’t know what is.

Another measure to look at when checking the popularity of something is the secondary markets formed. The e-reader and e-book knowledge base is growing exponentially. Not only does Amazon’s Kindle site absolutely dominate when it comes to user experience, and filling a need, other sites have popped up to increase the e-book experience.

E-book Fling is an e-book exchange site loosely based on the Netflix model. E-books (Kindle/Nook) have the ability to “lend” a book to someone for a 14-day period (much like you could hand someone a book you own). E-book Fling decided to make a marketplace based on this functionality.

People post their e-book library on the site, and others can borrow it for the two-week period for one “credit.” One obtains a credit by either purchasing them, or lending a book to someone else. This enticement to share makes the site more of a book exchange than a book rental site, which is a great concept. The only thing lacking is a social aspect (profile) like GoodReads.

Amazon, the e-commerce site that revolutionized the e-book and e-reader market, is set to throw in its lot in the tablet race with rumors that it is developing its own e-reader. If, and when, that happens you can expect to see a more competitive and robust e-publishing industry. Tech Vibes blogger Knowlton Thomas explained that it makes more sense for Amazon to develop a tablet computer for the e-reader market than most of Apple’s iPad competitors:

“They have an established app store. They have an established online music store. They have an established e-book store. They have cloud technology. They already have one mobile device, their Kindle e-reader, which has been one of their all-time best selling products and a dominator in its market.”

Beyond Amazon’s possible foray into the tablet industry, there are countless more predictions for the market that are not only exciting but thought-provoking too.

Do you read eBooks? Do you prefer old-fashioned paper books? Let’s discuss in the comments.

Todd Liss Hi everyone, I'm Todd. I recently completed my MBA coursework in marketing and decided to to blaze my own Gen Y trail and start my own business. I now spend my days helping small to medium companies improve their online connections with their past, current and future customers.
Twitter: @ToddLiss

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TNGG is an online lifestyle magazine about growing up in the information age. We're a crowdsourced community for and by people under 30. TNGG is a mixture of journalism, blogging, opinions, advice, analysis, and commentary on our lives, our issues and the world around us.